Why should we pray? What is the purpose
of prayer? Does prayer change the mind of God? Or does prayer change our own
minds instead? Why should we pray to Him, since He knows everything even
before we ask from Him? Must God be pestered before He will grant our petitions?
Do we need to storm heaven, as some people would say, so that God will hear
our prayers, otherwise, He will not move at all? That is why there are some
people who think that prayer is not necessary. For some, prayer is more to
achieve psychological peace. So, they will meditate on their breath, or they
meditate on something to keep them calm, so that they can see things
clearly. So, prayer for them, for many people is reduced to mindfulness,
perhaps. But mindfulness is not prayer. So, what is the basis for prayer? Jesus
Himself is our basis for prayer. Because Jesus Himself prayed. We know
that before He came to full realisation of His calling, at His baptism, He was
praying and the Spirit came upon Him and confirmed Him. "You are my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased." Before Jesus made important decisions, like the
choice of the twelve apostles, He spent the whole night in prayer. When Jesus was in
distress, knowing that the passion was before Him, He spent the whole night at
the Garden of Gethsemane in prayer. He had gone through anguish in prayer,
crying out to the Father in tears for the Father to help Him. So, my dear
brothers and sisters, Jesus set for us an example of what it means to pray. But
certainly, we must not think that prayer is to change the mind of God, as much as
a relationship with Him. Jesus made it clear. It doesn't mean to say that if we
use many words, then God will hear our prayers. Prayer is important to
cultivate a personal relationship with the Lord. Pray is for God to journey
with us. God is journeying with us, like a father and a child. That is what He
taught us in the Lord's Prayer. When you pray, say, "Our Father". That's the
relationship. When you have a relationship, God helps us to process
ourselves. What does the father do when the child
comes to him? Besides processing, sometimes the father will intervene. The
father will hold the hand of the child, will help the child. But sometimes, the
father doesn't do anything, but just to listen, just to encourage the child. And
so, that is what prayer is all about. Actually, prayer is really a
relationship with God, for God to journey with us. That's why prayer requires
trust. It builds up this intimate relationship with God, coming to know
ourselves, understand our own needs, our own struggles. At the same time, knowing
that the Father will step in, when it is needed. God is certainly concerned
about our lives, about our happiness. And God certainly will bring justice to us
and for us. This God that we worship is a God who listens to us. And so, it is
important, my dear brothers and sisters, that we turn to God with confidence, and
God will certainly come to our help. That is why in our own prayer life, we
should not be weary. And that is what the Lord is reminding us. When we are
praying to God, we should not give up too easily. Because there are certain
times when the Lord wants us to be purified in our desires. He wants us to
think through what we are asking, whether it is really good for us. That is why
sometimes God delays in helping us. Which is true. But sometimes when
prayers are answered too quickly, just like sometimes when we help people too
quickly, they never learn, they never grow, they become totally dependent.
They do not know how to use whatever resources the Lord has given to
them. And that is why there is no change of life. Even when you help this person,
the person will become lazy again. Just like the parents who help their children to do their
homework. When you do their homework for them, they never learn. But if you were
to patiently teach them, help them to struggle along, they will learn. And
God is like that. That's why when sometimes when God delays, it doesn't
mean to say He is not helping. He is helping us. But I think more
importantly, not only God delays sometimes in helping us, we must
understand that the wisdom of God is different from man. God does not
always answer our prayers, according to what we think it is. What we think is
justice, is not the way God thinks. It's just our human projection on God. We
take the case of Jesus. When He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, what did He
say? "Father, take the cup away." Did God hear His prayers? He did. And God said He
had to die. That was the answer. And Jesus embraced the Father's will. So, it's
important for us that the way we want things to be done, the prayers to be
answered, is never always according to what we think should be answered. God
knows better. And so, in the case of Jesus, He allowed Jesus to die, so that He
could vindicate Him in the most powerful way, by raising Him from the dead, by
helping Him to establish the kingdom that He had entrusted to Him, a kingdom
that is everlasting. Because it was only through His death that He could conquer
death and could conquer sin. So, my dear brothers and sisters, we need to
trust in God when we pray. We need to surrender our lives to Him. He knows
best. And we too need to trust that this God whom we love, whom we worship, He too
will be with us. And so, it is important, my dear brothers and sisters, that we
continue to pray with confidence, with hope.
